I AM THE HIGHWAYSTAR..............

THOSE WERE THE BEST HOLS OF MY LIFE

(Tip: Click on the thumbnails to see the original size snaps)
Well, its been a long time since i posted last.
So doing it now.

During Dussehra break had a chance to have one of my best hols in recent years.

I did what I love to do.....all things had to go my way only....

To start with gave a cool surprise at home by reaching at a time (before time)

when they had not expected me to reach and they thought that i would be giving exam in the

examination hall.......

It all started like this:

Train Journey to Delhi:

Sunset captured when on train:

In Train:

Playing "Tota Ud, Maina Ud" on Train:

Great fun durin' the journey home....

Well the hols can be divided into three parts:
Part 1: Purchase of new mobile
Part 2: Trip to Fatehpur Sikri
Part 3: Trip to Andamans

Part 1:
Well for starters I purchased the cool sexy funky looking yet a elegant looking phone....
It is I would say the phone made to look hot but still gentle....
It has features to kill, yet it gives life.
Well had Nokia 7610 in mind but just one look at this mobile and just a couple of its features....
was just enough for me to say this is the phone which I have to get....and got it.
The details on the phone can be found here: Sony Ericsson K700i

Part 2:
Then the next leg was a 400 Km drive to and back from Fatehpur Sikri.
Set out for it at around 5:30 am and reached back home around 3:30 PM....
Spent sometime while going to have some tea and something to eat at Mathura
and then spent time roaming around the fort and then while coming back again stopped at Mathura for lunch.
The best part was of the 400 Kms i had Honda City in my hands for 300Kms.....what more
can a Highwaystar ask for. While coming back was real fun after Mathura from someplace
(the name cannot be recalled the race between few of us started - cars being my City, Safaris, Qualiz, Accent and all).....That was fun and more fun when we entered Faridabad and still trying to clock 100Kmph on short distances to overtake each other......after Faridabad it was like game: Midtown Madness.

Fatehpur Sikri - Dargah:

Part 3:
Well on this we embarked the next evening - first was flight to Chennai.

At Chennai we stayed the airport acco for a night and then early next morning to

dream place of Andamans - landed at Port Blair.

The view of sky from inside the plane while going to Chennai:

The first day there we went for local sight seeing at Port Blair, the main being Cellular Jail and then to

Ross Island.

Cellular Jail: The Inside View:

Ross Island - View from Cellular Jail:

Ross Island Beach:

Sunset from Ross Island:

The Deer at Ross Island:

Also the same day we saw light and sound show @ cellular jail.

Now some bad news for people who wanted me to stay back at cellular jail....

well the cell sizes are much bigger than our hostel rooms, I would have loved to stay there,

but then tha was not possible....This is because when I returned many asked - You didn't stay back

at Cellular Jail.....

The next day ah snorkeling time @ north bay....

we snorkeled saw corals and many varieties of fishes and various other marine life near the upper reaches of the sea. The sea was so calm that one could easily swim in it without any tubes, it seemed like a massive swimming pool.

North Bay - Place for Snorkeling:

Corals:

After Snorkeling we went off to another island Viper Island.....another place where prisoners were hanged.

On the way we could see the Port Blair - port, and various other scenic islands all lush green and also while returning amazing sunset. The pics are below for this leg of the journey........just fell in love with the place. It is so scenic.....can't help saying it (and showing also how beautiful it is)

Port Blair - Port:

Gallows at Viper Island:

Sunset @ Viper Island:

Another View of Sunset:

Another view Sunset:

Well here the day got over and then dinner and sleep......since had to wake up early morning to see sunrise since had missed it this day (though mom n dad had seen and i was sleeping didn't wake up)

Woke up next day around 4:45 am and went down to the hotel's rocky beach.....and waited and waited for sunrise, but what i got was cloudy sky, so could not capture a gud sunrise.

Sun Rise (Clouds Disrupted it):

Then we went of to Havelock Island, the island where scuba diving is done (though in october scuba diving had not started, starts in month of November. The beaches here were lovely and for a change for the first time in Andamans saw a beach where there were some waves.....and water was so clear (shown in one of the pics in which wave has been captured)

Havelock Island Beach No. 7:

The Dolphin Resort beach was amazingly different from the other beach above. This is also in Havelock, but had a great combination of rocky and sandy beach. Water had so many shades of green and blue (try to identify in the snaps below)

Dolphin Resort Beach at Havelock:

When we were leaving for Port Blair from Havelock Island, sunset had started, and could not resist to click it.....

Sunset at Havelock_1:

Sunset at Havelock_2:

The next day we made a trip till Baraghat on a bus. Basically, this trip was done in order to see the tribals - Jarawas who reside on the Port Blair island. Taking their snaps is not permitted so for a change decided to follow rules. For entering the tribal area, a vehicle is not permitted to enter alone, it goes in a set of 7-8 vehicles with a police van at front and also at the end of the convoy. This is basically for security. Though the tribals have been disciplined to a large extent, but still why take risk with tourists. Got to see many Jarawas, think it was a lucky day, spotting them is really difficult. At end of one leg of journey we reached Baraghat. There we decided to do some local sight seeing - so there were two major spots - Tota Tikri and Mud Island Volcano. The journey to Tota Tikri (Parrot Island) is done on a small canoe like motor boat. The Journey is amazing, travelling through untouched greeneries of the island. Though we were in open sea, but there were so many islands small and medium sized together that the effect of the sea had been transformed into a feeling of backwaters. It was beautiful. About Tota Tikri it is said that the island has a speciality that all the mangrove trees there have been trimmed by Parrots themselves and thus the island looks like a huge table. The pic is below.

Then there was Mud Volcano, these are rare volcanoes, and this one was an active volcano and erupted last year also. The next nearest volcanoes are over 2o000Kms in Russia and in US. About mud volcano, the detail is given in one pic below.

AT BARAGHAT:

Tota Tikri or Parrot Island:

Mud Volcano:

About Mud Volcano:

Mud Volcano Beach:

That was our last day of trip, we came back and had dinner and slept of at our pad in Port Blair. The next day we left for Chennai. From Chennai we went to Tirupathi for darshan, and stayed there overnight had darshan early morning around 5:30 am (we were in queue from 4am - with special tickets). then that day itself we came back to Chennai and had an evening flight from Chennai to Delhi. We reached Delhi around 8:30 pm and from there went straight to station, to catch my train to Bhubaneswar. The trip was real fun. To Andamans i still wanna go, lovely place........missed scuba there, and i have to do that......so someday i will be there again....

Our Pad in Port Blair (Hotel Sinclair):